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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29954589">The Negotiator</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Femalefonzie/pseuds/Femalefonzie'>Femalefonzie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Obi-Mom Kenobi [18]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha Anakin Skywalker, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Baby Leia Organa, Baby Luke Skywalker, Dooku (Star Wars) Is So Done, Established Relationship, Gen, Leia is Indifferent, Like the Jedi may not even go after Palpatine. They may just let Padmé beat his ass, Luke Skywalker is a Little Ball of Sunshine, M/M, Omega Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala is About to go Absolutely Feral, Post Mpreg, Tired Mace Windu, When She Figures Out What Palpatine did....oh boy!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:13:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,577</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29954589</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Femalefonzie/pseuds/Femalefonzie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Sequel to Soul Bound</p>
<p>In the cover of night, The Jedi Temple receives an unexpected visitor...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dooku &amp; Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Obi-Mom Kenobi [18]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1822219</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>113</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Negotiator</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was late. Mace didn't know how late it was but his room was in complete darkness when he came to. He had never been a deep sleeper, years of working various missions prevented him from being able to sleep comfortably through the night, even if the noises that disturbed him were just someone walking to the kitchen in the middle of the night to get a drink of water or rain hitting the window. This night, however, something was different. Mace sat up in time just as there was a slight knock on the door before it creaked open and Depa Billaba poked her head into her former Master's room, "Master Windu?" She asked. </p>
<p>Mace sighed and the tension he had been carrying on his shoulders since he came to was released. His apprentice's presence <em>could</em> mean that the Temple was burning down, but it was not completely within the realm of fiction to believe that she just wanted his opinion on something. He didn't need to jump to the apocalypse just yet. "Yes?" He asked. </p>
<p>Depa shifted uncomfortably for a moment as she tried to think of a way to break the news to her Master. There was a reason she had been the one selected to go and collect Master Windu. As master and apprentice, they had an unshakable bond of friendship that often resembled that of a father &amp; daughter or, at the very least, that of a protective older brother and little sister. After a moment of just standing there struggling to find the words, she spit it out. "Sir, you're not going to fucking believe this." </p>
<p>His apprentice didn't curse. While Depa enjoyed a joke and could be quite playful with those she was comfortable with, she was an old soul and didn't care for cussing. Suddenly Mace's fears about the end of days had returned. She continued, "Count Dooku-"</p>
<p>"What about him?" Mace demanded. "Attacking? Is he attacking Coruscant?"</p>
<p>Depa shook her head, "He is demanding to speak with the Kenobi family."</p><hr/>
<p>"I don't like this." Anakin had been repeating that sentence since they received the notice that Dooku was at the Temple demanding to speak with the Kenobis. Throughout the hurricane that was getting up, waking Donalbain &amp; Kal-Vi, and everyone getting dressed, Anakin kept repeating that statement not only to Obi-Wan but to his in-laws too. He wanted it well documented in case he couldn't stomach seeing the Count in person and he just flew off the handle. His mate handled it by sticking close to Anakin's side, holding onto his arm and leaning over to place little kisses against the Alpha's cheek whenever he opened his mouth to repeat the sentiment. There wasn't much else he really could do right now and Obi-Wan hated this feeling of helplessness. Dooku had outlined his conditions; while he would not object to a Jedi presence in the background, he wanted direct communication with Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan alone. That left Anakin with a bad taste in his mouth. "I want to go with you. What if he tries something-" Before Obi-Wan could offer him yet another little kiss, Anakin cut himself off with a sharp inhale of breath. It wasn't a sob, not yet, but he was getting there. He stopped mid-stride, doubling over and wrapping his arms around himself to try and keep himself from just crumbling to the floor. Obi-Wan remained at his side, arms around him, waiting for Anakin. They stayed that way for a moment, just holding onto each other, before Anakin finally whispered, "I already lost half my family, Obi, I can't lose you too."</p>
<p>He didn't lose half of his family. Anakin had never had a father, just a mother, who was gone; he had two children, beautiful twins, but now they were gone too. He had lost more than half of his family. If something happened to Obi-Wan...</p>
<p>Donalbain was the one who came to the rescue. He leaned in, scooped the two of them up in a big bear hug and didn't let either of them go until Anakin managed to crack a smile. He let them go but gave Anakin a firm pat on the shoulder, "You're a protective one, Lad, but there is nothing to fear. We'll keep him safe. We're going to keep both of you safe." They were not going to lose anyone else. Not if Donalbain had anything to do about it. </p>
<p>Kal-Vi nodded in agreement, "I've had dealings with Dooku before. I know how to handle the man." And something told him that Dooku would prefer to avoid it getting to that point. It would not look well upon the Count if he was tackled and beaten senseless by a protective Stewjoni. And if once Kal-Vi had Dooku on the ground, Anakin joined him in repeatedly kicking the count in the crotch, would the Jedi Order really be mad or would they join him? </p>
<p>They stepped out in the temple courtyard where a crowd had already amassed. Every Jedi within a short distance of Coruscant was there, lightsabers in hand, taking a fighting stance and waiting for the command as they stood around the man in question. In the middle of the courtyard stood the man in question, wrapped up in a black cloak and facing down every person in the assembly without an ounce of fear. His face was unreadable; nothing but a blank expression. Anakin hissed, "Lord Dooku."</p>
<p>"Where is Kenobi?" The Count demanded and despite the fact that he was surrounded and there was no possible way of him getting out of this situation in one piece, he still maintained this aura of command, of authority. He was the one running this show. He looked among the crowd, scanning for one familiar face. "I will only deal with Obi-Wan Kenobi."</p>
<p>Obi-Wan managed to untangle himself from his mate and grandfather and stepped forward. "I'm here." He replied and started to approach the Sith Lord in question, his hand hovering over his lightsaber in case the count decided to pull something at the last minute. His hands were hidden beneath his cloak, after all, there was no telling what the Count was hiding. "This is unexpected. What are you doing here at this hour? Given your age, I would have thought you would be asleep."</p>
<p>"Charming as ever," Dooku replied with an eye-roll. He opened his cloak, revealing what he had been hiding from the crowd and there was collective outrage from the group as they realized what the Count's true intentions were. "I have come to return these to you."</p>
<p>"Luke!" Obi-Wan shouted and while it would have been so easy for him to just surge forward, scoop his children up, he couldn't move. He felt like he was stuck to the floor, like he was cemented to the ground. All he could do was scream. "Leia!"</p>
<p>The crowd behind them sprung into action. Every lightsaber was activated, every Master, Knight, and Padawan who had shown up for the confrontation was in a fighting stance just waiting for the first person to make a move, ready to rush into action and whisk the babies away to safety. Donalbain and Kal-Vi both had to hold Anakin back, otherwise, he would have already done something stupid. He was putting a fight, squirming and thrashing, screaming obscenities. Dooku's took in the crowd and for the briefest of seconds, Obi-Wan could have sworn he saw a flash of fear in the old Count's face as he stated, "Get them to stand down."</p>
<p>"<em><strong>No</strong></em>," Anakin snarled and managed to break an arm free from Donalbain's grasp. He reached out with the force, tried to scoop one of the twins up into his arm and pull them back all the while screaming and snarling, "<em><strong>No! No! No!</strong></em>"</p>
<p>"<em><strong>Idiot!</strong></em>" Dooku shouted back at him and had to adjust the twins in his arms. "You're going to make me drop them!" And then he wouldn't have to worry about the crowd of Jedi because Obi-Wan was well within strangling distance. "I'm not going to hurt them. Just stand down!" He pleaded, actually pleaded, and seeing the mighty Count Dooku actually beg was enough to temporarily snap Anakin's concentration. He dropped his hand and the struggle to get the twins out of Dooku's grasp was finished. The Sith heaved a sigh of relief and looked down at the two babies in his grasp. "With him for a father, I bid you both good luck."</p>
<p>The hand-off itself was difficult. Dooku had to juggle Luke in one arm, Leia in the other, and while the older of the two twins was more than happy to cooperate, all but flinging herself into Obi-Wan's arms, her brother was less than willing to part with the other man just yet. While Obi-Wan tried to get Leia situated so he could accept Luke, the baby in question had both of his hands buried in Dooku's beard and was giggling, completely free of any care in the world. Maybe it would have been easier for them all to have another person here to help take them but that was not the Sith Lord's concern. If he was going to get trapped in this situation, he was going to proceed with it his own way. Obi-Wan was finally able to get Leia settled against his hip and Dooku deposited Luke in Obi-Wan's other arm though he was still clinging to his new companion's beard, giving it another tug. Dooku sighed, "Here he is. I know. You missed your mommy. He's here now though. You can let go of my beard now."</p>
<p>"I don't understand," Obi-Wan said with a sigh. "Why take the twins if your plan was to return them?"</p>
<p>"I didn't take them!" Dooku exclaimed. Why the hell did anyone think that he, an elderly gentleman as Anakin had once described him, would want to spend the rest of his life caring for two infants?! "My Master...he took the babies and delivered them to me to be trained in the ways of the Sith. So, negotiator, I am here to discuss the terms of my surrender."</p>
<p>"...Your surrender?" Obi-Wan repeated. He waited for a moment for Dooku to drop the act, to try and pull the rug out from underneath him, but nothing happened. They just stood there awkwardly. Obi-Wan turned back to the others and shouted, "He's surrendering!" Though...he still didn't understand why. Why now of all times? They had Anakin and Obi-Wan exactly where they wanted they wanted them, the Council was torn up regarding the disappearance of the babies...why give that up now? "Why?" He asked. </p>
<p>"I-" Leia reached out and grabbed Dooku by the beard, giving it a forceful tug and silencing his speech before it could even get started. The Count of Serenno just sighed and tried to gently untangle her chubby little fingers to no avail. When he spoke again, his voice was soft and tender, a vast difference from the cold and unfeeling one that was used to bark commands to droid armies. "...I just got your brother to stop. Don't sink to his level." </p>
<p>Something clicked inside of Obi-Wan's mind and while it was not good form, he couldn't help but smirk once it all fell into place. "Oh." He said softly. He was going to enjoy holding this over everyone's heads for the rest of their lives and he was certain that Anakin would too. He looked down at the twins in his arms, Luke having switched all his interests to clinging to the front of his mother's robes, Leia scowling at having been moved away from Dooku's beard, and pressed a couple of quick kisses to both of their foreheads. "You two are better negotiators than I am." He whispered to the two of them, earning himself a loud giggle from Luke and complete indifference from Leia. He straightened up, shifting the twins in his arms, and nodded towards Dooku signaling for him to follow, "Come on then, we'll start drafting your terms of surrender." </p>
<p>Dooku put up no resistance and started to follow along behind the Jedi. Obi-Wan only stopped for a moment to deposit one of the twins in Anakin's arms, knowing full well that he was bouncing on the spot waiting for a chance to hold his children again. Since Luke was still clingy, he surrendered Leia who Anakin immediately started covering with little kisses. Leia remained indifferent. The rest of the assembled group fell into line, slowly shuffling along behind them, and while no one said anything directly, both he and Obi-Wan could hear the others muttering &amp; murmuring behind them. "-Dark Lord of the Sith, apprentice of a dark presence, leader of the separatists, brought down by a pair of babies-." </p>
<p>"-Fought wars, fought many battles, freed many planets, should have just dropped a baby in Dooku's lap-"</p>
<p>Oh well, Obi-Wan supposed, but they would know for next time. </p><hr/>
<p>Satine had been staying with Padme at her apartment in Coruscant while they waited for updates on the twins. A part of her wondered if they were doing the right thing, shoving the rest of their duties to the side in order to focus on locating the babies, but any concern that she had about the situation was quickly shoved to the side whenever she thought about the cute little babies that had been stolen in the middle of the night. No, she couldn't sleep, couldn't focus on anything else so long as they were missing. Luckily for her, this was looking to be one of her last nights of restless sleep. Not long after midnight Padme came storming into the guest room carrying a comm-link and speaking a mile a minute. It took Satine a second to realize that she wasn't the only one speaking; the familiar voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi was coming through the comm. "-We are still unsure what this means but one of the conditions of Dooku's surrender, one of the conditions that spared him from the penalty of death, was providing information on the whereabouts of collaborators." Satine felt her heart skip a beat inside of her chest. Dooku surrendered? Count Dooku surrendered?! She sat up in bed and inched closer to Padme, trying to hear Kenobi better who was continuing, "-General Grievous and others. We will be sending troops to their locations shortly to make the arrests."</p>
<p>"And," Satine piped up. The war ending was all well and good (more than well and good, actually. The damn war was ending after far too long!) but her concerns right now laid in the wellbeing of the tiniest Skywalkers. If something had happened to them..."What of the twins? And what of the ring-leader behind all of this?"</p>
<p>"Anakin was right," Obi-Wan answered her. "It was Palpatine."</p>
<p>Padme grit her teeth together; she was already thinking of a hundred different ways to make what was left of Palpatine's life miserable. "Bastard." She grumbled. </p>
<p>"What are the Jedi's plans for dealing with the Sith Lord?" Satine asked. </p>
<p>"Yet to be determined." Obi-Wan's voice was grave and both of the women speaking with him knew that meant that there was no fooling around, no beating around the bush, no leniency. Whatever the Council had in plan for Palpatine it wasn't going to be pretty. But, that was assuming that Palpatine would even make it before the Council. "We will have an answer shortly." </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I have two quick things to bring up to you guys. After this fic, I'm going to release one more short one-shot before trying something different and posting the first multi-chapter fic in this series. After all of the kidnapping, all the angst, I thought it may be a nice change of pace to just have some cute adventures with Luke &amp; Leia at the Jedi Temple, interacting with various Jedi, getting into shenanigans, etc. </p>
<p>Before that can happen though, I have one more short fic that centers around Palpatine's arrest/death/punishment. The issue arises, I have had multiple ideas on how to take old Palpacreep down. Should I have Padmé kick the shit out of him for the catharsis, or should I have the Jedi take him down? Should Satine &amp; Padmé team up for some subtle murder, or should Donalbain just straight up rip his head off? So, I turn to you, my readers. Would you be interested in a "Choose your own ending" sort of fic where various characters beat Palpatine's ass or do you just want to cast your vote for who destroys him and have it be one ending? I open the floor to you. </p>
<p>As always, thanks for reading! :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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